Imagine this: you are watching the show Yellow stone – especially the second part of season five – and I wonder if, when and how much Kevin Costner will growl and growl on your screen. If you want to get a guaranteed glimpse of our boy Kevy Costmeister, you need to turn to Max and turn on Horizon, part 1because that’s what he was filming when they were filming this particular volume of Yellow stone episodes. It’s a good film, even if it wears a completely different type of hat than what you’re used to seeing in John Dutton.

For those of you who are just aware of everything that’s going on Yellow stone against Costner, here’s a look at the full story, or at least everything we know about the Dutton family patriarch’s situation.

Yellow stone is written by a single man named Taylor Sheridan who won’t take help. The problem, of course, is that Sheridan is now the sole writer on several shows, and writing five billion episodes of television a year takes time, no matter how good you are at riding. According to Costner, when he was available to film, Sheridan did not make the final Yellow stone ready scriptsso they missed their precious Costner window.

According to Costner, he did. At a child support hearing in September 2023, reported by Peoplehe told the court that he had already changed his schedule to film the first half of season five, noting “It’s a big deal in this world.” Costner Horizon is a $35 million self-funded passion project, and Yellow stone has already been delayed – the first half of season five premiered in November 2022! Both projects employed many people who also had lives to lead and schedules to keep. And honestly, by the time all this was revealed, relations between Team Costner and Team Sheridan had already deteriorated, making any further concessions unlikely.

Oh honey, that’s what’s for dinner. In February 2023, when reports were first published that Yellow stone as we know it would end after season five, sources said Deadline that Costner was only willing to spend a single week filming the final episodes. Costner’s team took umbrage, as his lawyer Marty Singer told Puck: “The idea that Kevin was only willing to work a week on the second half of season five of Yellowstone is a absolute lie.” In that same issue of Puck, it was noted that Glenn Kleczkowski, Costner’s longtime assistant and associate, had published (and then deleted) strong criticism of another Sheridan show a few months earlier, King of Tulsa, on Instagram: “Stick to the westerns, bro. You know nothing about THIS life. Stay in your lane, country boy. I actually feel embarrassed for you as a writer and creator. Oh my boy!

Details continued to trickle out that clearly sought to portray Costner as a divo whose unreasonableness was stifling the production. He wanted a “veto” right over Yellow stone scripts, he had a “moral death” clause in his contract that didn’t allow them to kill John Dutton in a way that Costner found personally embarrassing, and then he contracted COVID-19 during production, once again reducing his availability.

However, a certain hope remained, Sheridan approaching the drama in a manner Hollywood journalist profile in June 2023. “My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t changed,” he said, adding: “Once lawyers get involved, people can’t talk to each other and start to saying things that aren’t true and attempting to shift blame based on how the press or public seems to react. He even paid tribute to Costner for the way he handled bad press: “He took a lot on the chin and I don’t know if anyone deserves that.” »

Did he do it! The press tour for Horizon was one for the ages, with each Costner appearance offering us a new nugget of wisdom from the Oscar-winning movie star. It all started on a positive note, with the actor telling Entertainment tonight in April 2024, he would apparently be ready to return to the series. “I thought I was going to do seven seasons, but right now we’re at five,” he said. “So how’s it going – I hope so – but they have a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe it will come back to me. If so and I feel really comfortable, I would love to do it.

Later, in May, he gave Deadline a little more detail in an expletive-laden interview full of shady gems like “Writing is really hard, I understand.” When asked if this was the case Horizon this made him unavailable to complete more Yellow stonehe was clear: “That’s not true. There were periods where we didn’t make 10 episodes. Basically, we would start in April and May, and we would usually finish until August. We would do 10. We haven’t even done 10 in that time. I only worked 43 days. So it’s bullshit. It’s a lie. This is not correct.

He also clarified the rumor that he was only willing to work for a week: “There were no scripts. I said, “Look, if you want to finish this gracefully, the best I can do is give you a week. And if you can come up with a script…” I usually work six or seven days each, whatever they are. And they took that and a source on their side explained that by saying he only wanted to work one week for an entire season. Do you think this is who I am? I have never missed a day of work. I never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. Often I stay as long as I can. I actually worked nine days just to try to help them back in July when I was starting (Horizon) August 1. I worked for them one Saturday and one Sunday, and they still needed four more days.

We won’t know until the show premieres Sunday night. Although Costner appears in the trailer for upcoming episodes, it’s unclear if these are reused footage or new scenes or just moments on set where he was rolling around and mumbling things. Will he be a force ghost? A CGI monstrosity? A guy we’ll never see again after an off-screen death? Just log in to find out.

As we know, yes. While a season six is ​​in negotiationsKelly Reilly told New York Times this week that, when it comes to her character Beth Dutton, she’s ready to move on and she’s also “very happy to let her fade away”. But don’t worry. The world of Taylor Sheridan is still expandingso you’ll have plenty of grizzled dudes on horses offering cultural commentary in your future.